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any advice on how to improve my english which is in trouble!

hi all

i think i met the most headache trouble on english studying so far since
i m not a native english speaker but still are so interested in it.

ya, i found that,after studying english for a while, i can speak, i can write,
i can read, and even i can talk with native-english friends, but the next
and more difficult thing thrown to me, i can describe something in very simple way, but its not easy to say them in more details, so i m trying to find out the cause for it and owe it to my limited vacabulary. but how to remember all those boring new words in such short time? and its also so easy to forget them totally even after i have looked them up from dictionary from word to word..... and i still canot make it successfully!

any one can help me to overcome those aweful problems for me? and
i ll be appreicate for your suggestions.

Re: any advice on how to improve my english which is in trou

Some of your posting isn't exactly idiomatic English, but I can understand what you are saying.

You will have to be patient with yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day. (Do you know that expression?)

It is difficult to learn more than one or two words at a time. It is especially difficult to learn new words if they don't fit neatly into your present vocabulary.

Undeniably, you do have some things to work on. I can help, starting with a critique of your posting. Tell me if you wish me to do so.

I don't know how much opportunity you have to practice the English you do know, but practice as much as you can--the more the better.

Learning a new language takes time. Ask questions. Practice the English you know. Ask more questions. Be patient with yourself. :)

It is certainly frustrating when you aren't learning something as fast as you think you should, but you have certainly come a long way from when you didn't know any English. It will come, I assure you.

Re: any advice on how to improve my english which is in trou

oh i m so happy to get your nice replies with wonderful advices so promptly which is really beyond my expections! thanks again!

ya , i found myself start to love this place, i think i find what i really want now,which is the best and proper way for me get my english improved here.

you are right, Red5, why i have to rush to get it, it does need some time with regular work to do bit by bit, i ll read the article recommended by you soon.

its also very kind of you, RonBee , to help my english studying just beginning with the critique of my posting, and it s my honor indeed to get your help, thanks RonBee, i d love you do that to me! :) and i do know the expression that Rome was built in one day, and now i think i should keep more patient with it!

thanks for you two teachers' encouragement and help to me! i ll do better for sure .......

Re: any advice on how to improve my english which is in trou

i think i met the most headache trouble on english studying so far since i m not a native english speaker but still are so interested in it.

Studying English has been giving me headaches, I have been trying so hard to learn it. I am not a native speaker, but I would like to be able to speak like one.

I took some liberties with the interpretation. Please tell me if you think it is accurate.

Originally Posted by lucyarliwu

ya, i found that,after studying english for a while, i can speak, i can write, i can read, and even i can talk with native-english friends, but the next and more difficult thing thrown to me, i can describe something in very simple way, but its not easy to say them in more details, so i m trying to find out the cause for it and owe it to my limited vacabulary. but how to remember all those boring new words in such short time? and its also so easy to forget them totally even after i have looked them up from dictionary from word to word..... and i still canot make it successfully!

I found that after studying English for a while that I can speak it, read it, and even talk with native speaker friends, but there is one thing that is quite difficult for me. I can describe something in a simple way, but it is not easy to do so in detail, because I lack the vocabulary for it. How can I remember all those boring new words and do so quickly?

I have a suggestion. When you learn a new word use it as often as possible. Following is an example of what I mean using the word bicycle.

Susie told me about getting a new bicycle. I asked her how she liked her new bicycle. She told me that it is a red bicycle and she likes riding her new bicycle. She said that she rides her bicycle to the market. she rides her bicycle to school. She rides her bicycle to the park. She said she likes her new bicycle and she is glad she has a bicycle. I told her that I am glad she likes her new bicycle.

Note that in the preceding paragraph "bicycle" appears ten times; "new" appears five times; "her" appears seven times; and "she" appears ten times. That repetition will reinforce the learning of those words. (It is true that repetition can be boring, but it will certainly help to get the words into your head.)

Originally Posted by lucyarliwu

any one can help me to overcome those aweful problems for me? and i ll be appreicate for your suggestions.

Can anyone help me overcome these problems? I'll be very appreciative for your suggestions.

Re: any advice on how to improve my english which is in trou

Thanks Ron!

Its quite a surprise to have received two critiques for my postings
from you. Frankly, i havenot thought i have made so many mistakes
in the writing from none-capitalization of words to less idiomatic ways
of sentences, which were all totally changed by you so carefully into
so beautiful lines.

It seems like i become a seven-year-old pupil of primal school again,
for who it's so common to make mistakes constantly in Chinese studying
and then keep getting corrections from teachers patiently over and
over. Oh, i feel a bit shy for this. :-p

Thank you Ron for all your intensive corrections and new suggestion.
It's the same thing to studying Chinese by repetition at school, so
I'm sure it must work to English,which is so obvious but easy to be
ignored for any foreign language learner. I can tell you are a rich-
experienced English teacher, right? ^_* By the way, does it work if
I use repetition in studying new verbs? It's said that its rather
hard to study verbs full of various forms and with phrases in English.
So could you give me another example on verbs?

At the secondary posting, I noticed you changed " lucy(in eager to
make it)" into "Lucy(an eager beaver)", then i looked up BEAVER from
dictionary, which means " a fur-coated animal that lives both on land
and in water", it seems mean nothing with me, doesnot it? I guess
that must be something inside, right?

I am appreciative for your help. :)

(BTW, what's the difference between 'infectious' and 'contagious'?
I couldnot make it clear when both of them are used to describe
disease and laughter)

Re: any advice on how to improve my english which is in trou

Thank you for all the compliments. The truth is that I am a teacher only on the forums.

By the way, does it work if I use repetition in studying new verbs?

Repetition is an important learning tool, so yes, I recommend it. Repetition is a way we have of telling our brains that something is important to remember. :)

It's said that its rather hard to study verbs full of various forms and with phrases in English.

Yes, every verb tends to "partner" with other words to create verb phrases. The same ones tend to be used over and over. Context is, of course, quite important. The same word or phrase used in a different context has a different meaning. In takes practice in usage to train our brains to know what word or phrase to use in what context.

To learn something you should (1) read it; (2) hear it; (3) write it; and (4) speak it. Each one reinforces the other.

So could you give me another example on verbs?

Would you please elaborate on that?

At the secondary posting, I noticed you changed " lucy(in eager to
make it)" into "Lucy(an eager beaver)", then i looked up BEAVER from
dictionary, which means " a fur-coated animal that lives both on land
and in water", it seems mean nothing with me, doesnot it? I guess
that must be something inside, right?

It's an American expression. An "eager beaver" is someone who is enthusiastic about something. such a person doesn't need any external motivation.

(BTW, what's the difference between 'infectious' and 'contagious'?
I could not make it clear when both of them are used to describe
disease and laughter)

Medically speaking, infectious and contagious are two different things. Laughter can be contagious but not, I think, infectious.